Hall effect device

Abstract

A hall effect device includes an active Hall region in a semiconductor substrate, and at least four terminal structures, each terminal structure including a switchable supply contact element and a sense contact element, wherein each supply contact element includes a transistor element with a first transistor terminal, a second transistor terminal, and a control terminal, wherein the second transistor terminal contacts the active Hall region or extends in the active Hall region; and wherein the sense contact elements are arranged in the active Hall region and neighboring to the switchable supply contact elements.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of manufacturing a Hall effect device indicative of a magnetic field, comprising:
 providing an active Hall region of a first semiconductor type formed in or on top of a substrate, wherein the substrate comprises an isolation arrangement to isolate the active Hall effect region in a lateral direction and a depth direction from the substrate or other electronic devices in the substrate; 
 providing a plurality of switchable supply contact elements at the active Hall region, wherein each switchable supply contact element comprises a transistor element with a first transistor terminal, a second transistor terminal, and a control terminal, wherein the second transistor terminal contacts the active Hall region or extends in the active Hall region; and 
 providing a plurality of sense contact elements in the active Hall region, wherein the sense contact elements are placed neighboring to the switchable supply contact elements, and wherein the sense contact elements and the switchable supply contact elements are separately connected to the Hall region. 
 
     
     
       2. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the terminal structures are provided to form a first pair of opposing terminal structures and a second pair of opposing terminal structures, and wherein a first conjugation line between the opposing terminal structures of the first pair and a second conjugation line between the opposing terminal structures of the second pair orthogonally intersect in a center point of the active Hall region. 
     
     
       3. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the active Hall region is provided to have a boundary line in form of a n-sided polygon, wherein n is at least three. 
     
     
       4. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the active Hall region is provided to have a boundary line in form of a n-sided regular polygon, wherein n is 4 or a multiple of 4. 
     
     
       5. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the active Hall region is provided to have a boundary line in form of a n-armed cross, wherein n is at least three. 
     
     
       6. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the active Hall region is provided to have a boundary line in form of a n-armed cross, wherein n is 4 or a multiple of 4. 
     
     
       7. The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing a control circuit for controlling an operation of the Hall effect device. 
 
     
     
       8. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the transistor element is formed as a bipolar junction transistor or a field effect transistor. 
     
     
       9. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the active Hall region is provided to comprise three triangular active sub-regions.